Now I've introduced five famous but not expensive herbs, I'd like to continue with some more. First, I'd like to talk about Dang Gui (Radix Angelicae Sinensis). I believe most of you have heard of this herb, since it is very famous. This herb has been recorded in ancient classcis, including literature works. In the following poem, In ancient times, when friends gave 'Shao Yao' (also named Jiang Li) as a gift, it means they are going to say good bye; when friends gave 'Dang Gui' (also named Wen Wu), it means they are going to come back. So this herb is very famous. In terms of its origin, it's mainly grown in Min County, Gansu Province and is one of the four famous herbs in this province. Let's take a look at its action characteristics from its property. First, about its meridian tropism, 非常有意思 it enters the heart, liver and spleen meridians. In Chinese medicine, these three meridians are mainly associated with blood circulation. The heart dominates blood; the liver stores blood; and the spleen generates blood and controls blood within the vessels. As a result, this herb mainly acts upon blood. How do we use this herb to treat blood problems? As for flavor, Dang Gui is sweet; and sweet tonifies, indicating that this herb can tonify blood. Of Chinese herbs, Dang Gui falls under the category of blood-tonifying herbs. At the same time, it is pungent and warm; pungent circulates and warm unblocks, indicating that this herb can circulate blood. Consequently, the functions of this herb can be summarized into pungent-circulating, sweet-tonifying and warm-unblocking blood. Its functions are all associated with tonifying blood, and circulating blood. Since it can tonify blood, it can be used to treat blood deficiency due to all kinds of reasons; also, it can be used to regulate menstruation, for irregular menstruation. Since it can circulate blood, it can be used to treat blood stasis due to all kinds of reasons; also, it can be used to regulate menstruation, stop pain and eliminate boils. Here I'd like to talk more about its second function moisten the large intestine and promote bowel movements. It can be used to treat intestinal dryness and constipation. Thirdly, this function is often neglected, it can help to stop chronic coughing and difficulty breathing. So we say that Dang Gui acts to circulate and tonify blood, moisten the large intestine, promote bowel movements and relieve coughing. It can reinforce and reduce, mainly reinforce and regulate blood. So let's take a look at this herb again. In terms of treatment, it can be used for irregular menstruation, this herb can be literally translated into angel in English, which refers to the major physiological feacture of women... menstruation. Menstruation is mainly associated with blood: whether you have adequate blood volume or the blood can flow normally. Insufficient blood volume, we call blood deficiency, can undoubetedly result in irregular menstruation, for example, scanty menstruation or even amenorrhea. In this case, we need to tonify blood to treat the irregular menstruation, we call tonify blood to regulate menstruation. On the other hand, blood stasis can cause irregular menstruation, for example, dysmenorrhea, delayed period, menstruation with blood clots, or even amenorrhea. In this case, to treat irregular menstruation due to stagnant blood, you need to circulate blood to regulate menstruation. Dang Gui tonifies and circulates blood, and is therefore a special and important herb for irregular menstruation. Secondly, it can also be used to relieve pain. Regarding pathogenesis of pain, Chinese medicine holds that there are two reasons... (1) obstruction causes pain, obstruction here means obstruction of meridians will cause pain. What should you do? For pain due to stagnant blood, you need to circulate blood to unblock meridians and stop pain. (2) malnourishment also causes pain, malnourishment here means blood failing to nourish meridians can cause pain. What should you do? You need to tonify blood to stop pain. Dang Gui can circulate blood to relieve pain and can also tonify blood to relieve pain, and is therefore a special and important herb for pain. In terms of its indications, becuase it is warm in property and it can circulate and tonify blood, it's best indicated for pain due to stagnation resulting from deficiency and cold. Since it can warm, unblock, dissiapte cold and stop pain, the famous formula by by Zhang Zhong-jing... Dang Gui Sheng Jiang Yang Rou Tang (Chinese Angelica, Fresh Ginger, and Lamb Decoction), is used for this condition. So much for its function in managing pain. Thirdly, it can be used to treat skin sores or boils. In Chinese external medicine, skin sores or boils can be classified into three phases. Generally speaking, in initial phase, patients may present with redness, swelling, hot sensation and pain. In this phase, we need to clear heat, resolve swelling and stop pain, Dang Gui combined with herbs that can clear heat and remove toxins can circulate blood, resolve swelling and stop pain and can therefore be used for the initial phase of skin sores or ulcers. In the middle phase, we need to discharge the pus. How? Circulating blood, removing toxins and draining the pus by Dang Gui combined with other herbs that can clear heat and remove toxins. So it can still be used in the middle phase. In the terminal pahse, although the pus was drained, the wound is hard to heal due to deficiency of qi and blood. What should we do? We tonify qi and blood to help regenerate fresh tissues and heal the would, we can use Dang Gui combined with Huang Qi and other herbs. So Dang Gui is extensively used for all three phases of skin sores and ulcers. We've also mentioned its function in moistening the large intestine and promoting bowel movements. It can promote intestinal peristalsis by circulating and tonifying blood, and can therefore be used to treat constipation due to intestinal dryness. It has good effects especially for senile constipation or constipation after childbirth due to blood loss. So much for the functions of Dang Gui. Actually, its core actions are to tonify blood and circulate blood. After blood-tonifying herb, I want to mention a qi-tonifying herb, which is often used in combination with Dang Gui in clinical practice. Let's take a look at Huang Qi (Radix Astragali). Huang is one of the most frequently used Chinese herbs. It's mainly grown in Inner Mongolia and is a typical qi-tonifying herb. What kind of qi does it tonify? Lung qi, spleen qi. So in terms of tonifying qi, Huang Qi can mainly be used to treat lung qi deficiency and spleen qi deficiency. On the other hand, because of its good effect in tonifying qi and subsequent functions, it can also be used to treat other problems. Let's take a look. The functions of Huang Qi can be summarized in five aspects: tonify qi to lift yang, consolidate the exterior to stop sweating, regenerate fluids to relieve thirst, promote diuresis to elimiate swelling and remove toxins to regenerate fresh tissues. The functions seems separate, however, they are all related to its effect in tonifying qi. Let's take a look. First, what kind of qi does it tonify? We've just mentioned that it enters the spleen meridian and is a typical herb to tonify spleen/stomach qi. As a result, it can be used to treat spleen/stomach-qi deficiency due to all kinds of reasons. Secondly, it has special effect in tonifying qi and lifting yang. In this sense, it's mainly used to treat prolapsed internal organs due to spleen-qi sinking, for example, prolapse of the stomach, prolapse of the kidney, prolapse of the uterus, prolapse of the rectum or chronic diarrhe or dysentery. All these problems are caused by spleen/stomach qi deficiency and weakness in consolidating and subsequent prolapse or diarrhea. Huang Qi can tonify spleen qi and lift yang. There are many qi tonifying herbs and some yang lifting herbs, for example, Chai Hu (Radix Bupleuri), Ge Gen (Radix Puerariae Lobatae) and Sheng Ma (Rhizoma Cimicifugae), however, Huang Qi is the only one that can tonify qi and lift yang. Consequently it is a typical herb to treat spleen qi sinking by targeting both the root cause and symptoms. There is a representative formula for spleen qi sinking, called Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang (Spleen Qi-Supplementing and Qi-Boosting Decoction). So you need to be aware that Dang Gui tonifies spleen qi. Thirdly, it can tonify lung qi. In Chinese medicine, one of the major functions of the lung is adaptability to weather changes. Chinese medicine holds that the lung dominates the skin and skin hair. In addition, the lung is closely associated with sweating. It can regulate the opening and closing of sweating pores. Deficiency of lung qi may affect the dispersing and descending of the lung, leading to cough and dyspnea; its poor adaptability to the outside world can compromise your defense ability, causing common cold and abnormal sweating, including spontaneous sweting and profuse sweating. Huang Qi can tonify lung qi and consolidate the exterior, and can therefore be used to treat common cold due to qi deficiency, deficient coughing or dyspnea, and spontaneous sweating. There is a famous formula, called Yu Pin Feng San (Jade Wind-Barrier Powder) that mainly contains Huang Qi. So the first three functions of Huang Qi are directly related to its effect in tonifying qi. The following functions are also related to its qi-tonifying effect. For instance, tonify qi to regenerate fluids and relieve thirst, because qi can promote generation of fluids and circulate fluids; qi deficiency may cause a dry mouth and edema, Huang Qi can tonify qi, regenerate fluids and relieve thirst, and can therefore be used for a dry mouth in Wasting and Thirsting syndrome (diabetes). It has been proven that Huang Qi is very effective to lower blood sugar and treat diabetes. On the other hand, Huang Qi can tonify qi, promote diuresis and resolve edema and can therefore be used to treat edema due to qi deficiency, especially chronic edema. As for Dang Gui, we've mentioned that it can be used in the late stage of skin sores or ulcers, so can Huang Qi. It can remove toxins and regenerate fresh tissues and can be used for difficulty would healing in late stage of skin sores or ulcers in combination with Dang Gui (tonifies blood). I'd also like to Mention another point... Huang Qi for blood problems. In terms of relationship between qi and blood, Chinese medicine holds that qi is the commander of blood and blood is the mother of qi. How do we understand 'qi is the commander of blood'? Qi generates blood; qi circulates blood; and qi holds blood within vessels; So we can say that Huang Qi gurantees normal circulation of blood within vessels. Qi deficiency can cause blood deficiency, Huang Qi can tonify qi and generate blood. There is a famous blood-tonifying formula called Dang Gui Bu Xue Tang (Chinese Angelica Blood-Supplementing Decoction), which contains two herbs... Huang Qi and Dang Gui at a ratio of 5 (Huang Qi): 1 (Dang Gui). On the other hand, For blood stasis due to qi deficiency, We can activate blood by tonifying qi and treat problems due to qi deficiency and blood stasis, for example, hemiplegia following stroke, we can use Huang Qi to tonify qi to transform blood and resolve stasis. There is a formula called Bu Yang Huan Wu Tang (Yang-Supplementing and Five-Returning Decoction) that contains Huang Qi. Finally, for bleeding due to qi deficiency, especially chronic bleeding, we can use Huang Qi to tonify qi and hold blood within vessels and stop bleeding. So much for the application of Huang Qi. In fact, we can still keep on talking its functions, the core of its functions is directly or indirectly associated with its function of tonifying qi. Therefore I'd like to generalize its functions as follows: it can reinforce and reduce both the exterior and interior; it can tonify both qi and blood. I'm sure you can understand what we have talked about Huang Qi. In this session, I'd like to introduce the last herb Tian Ma (Rhizoma Gastrodiae). Undoubtedly, you'll agree with me on considering Tian Ma as a precious Chinese herb. Let's take a look. In terms of property, It is neutral: neither cold nor hot. Additionally, it is sweet and neutral. As a result, it can be used for both cold, heat, deficiency and excess. In what way? Since it enters the liver meridian, it's specifically used for problems related to the liver meridian. The ancient people called this herb (1) a miraculous herb to stop wind or a grass to stop wind. Just as I mentioned it enters the liver meridian, So I'd like to explain the functions of Tian Ma in two aspects. First, it's effective for liver-related problems because it only enters the liver meridian. How? (1) by soothing liver yang. We know that hyperactivity of liver yang is a very common liver problem, which mainly manifests as vertigo/dizziness or headache. Actually the folk people know they can take Tian Ma for dizziness. Tian Ma is indicated for hyperactivity of liver yang becuase it can soothe liver yang and alleviate vertigo/dizziness. On the other hand, Tian Ma is specific for vertigo. We know vertigo can result from multiple reasons. Besides hyperactivity of liver yang, other reasons include deficiency of qi and blood, cervical spondylosis, and insufficient blood supply to the heart. Tian Ma is used for vertigo due to all kinds of reasons. Why? It is neutral. It's best indicated for hyperactivity of liver yang. That's why it's now mainly used to treat hypertension due to hyperactivity of liver yang. This is the first aspect. Let's move on to the second aspect. It treats liver problems or stops liver wind, which is a Chinese medical term. Internal stirring of liver wind mainly manifests as spasms and convulsions. Internal stirring of liver wind involves hyperactivity of liver yang, persistent high fever, blood deficiency, or yin deficiency. Tian Ma can be used to treat all kinds of internal stirring of liver wind. It's also very effective to stop wind. We've just mentioned it can stop internal wind, i.e., stopping liver wind and relieving spasms. Other than internal wind, it can also remove external wind, i.e., to remove wind and unblock collaterals. In this sense, it can be used to treat pain due to wind, dampness and impediment and hemiplegia following stroke. Consequently the folk people are well aware that Tian Ma can treat vertigo. Actually other than vertigo, it can be used for other problems. The key point is that it is neutral and moderate. In this session, I've introduced three herbs: (1) Dang Gui to tonify blood (2) Huang Qi to tonify qi (3) Tian Ma to specifically treat vertigo. So much for this class.
